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Imperial Remnants of Styria
Formerly based in the subsector capital and nowadays hiding in the smuggler routes that border the Subsector Mortis and its neighbor Subsector Aeternus, the remaining imperial loyalist dream of reestablishing the imperial subsector under the House of Saint Belisarius. Currently they are considered heretics and traitors by the sector though, most imperial institutions especially the inquisition regard the decree as the result of noble politics rather than from any actual basis of heresy and treason. History The Imperial Remnants of Styria trace their origins back to the crusade of St. Belisarius when he brought back the sector into the imperial fold. Naturally, upon the successful liberation of most of the planets in the sector, the saint’s closest lieutenants were awarded for their loyalty and dedication. The governorship of subsector Mortis like many of the highest offices of the sector was granted to a member of the dynasty who fought and was personally loyal to the saint. The newly appointed subsector governor had the unenviable task in ruling since not only were there independent Xo'nad states within the subsector as a result of the Xo'nad invasions, the perceived neglect of imperial authority to the plight of its people in the subsector has meant that secessionist movements were all too common. The half hearted attacks attempted by the Reclamation Crusade against the Xo'nad states merely exasperated the problem. This general feeling of abandonment continued to fester and grow until on 102.M41 on what would be the start of the Thirteen Rebellions in Sector Deus, the imperial navy fleet stationed in the subsector almost to the last warp worthy ship committed mutiny and refused the order to redeploy to other trouble spots brewing in the sector. Worse, one of the chief leaders of the mutiny was the subsector governor. Though, he was of Belisarian blood, he nonetheless championed the desire of the subsector to be listened to. After several months of negotiation with the Sector Governor and the Admiralty, the Sector Governor passed a decree that ordered the imperial navy inside the subsector at the time to not deviate from their task of cleansing the subsector of xenos and not be deployed elsewhere in the sector until this task was done. This pacified the subsector and for close to three decades the subsector was one of the more peaceful regions of space. This changed when control over the sector changed hands with the rise of the Ursus dynasty. Once they usurped the power not only repealed the decree that kept the peace but also levied planetary tithes considered astronomical,. That would have stripped the subsector of most if not all of its ships, soldiers and money. The Belisarian subsector governor refused to comply with the new orders especially from a member of a house that was engaged in a war of assassins against all Belisarians and as such all of Subsector Mortis was considered in rebellion and overrun by traitors and heretics. This series of actions was the last straw for the subsector and it disintegrated with alarming speed. Overnight, several thousand warlords and secessionist of various backgrounds declared themselves free and independent from imperial rule. The Century of Woe which is what imperial scholars refer to this turbulent and anarchic period saw imperial authority from the subsector be limited to the capital Styria and the systems near it. Efforts to expand and reestablish imperial rule were stymied by every warlord with sufficient strength attempting to conquer the subsector capital. The war of assassins between House Ursus and House Belisarius did not abate but if possible intensified. There were unconfirmed rumors of the Ursus dynasty using the various independent warlords as proxies to keep the Belisarian governor and by extension the remaining imperial loyalist mired in conflict and unable to influence the outcome of the war for the sector governorship. One area where the imperial forces managed to make any headway was establishing imperial control over the many smuggler routes that were prevalent on the border with Subsector Aeternus. This was accomplished through diplomacy rather than war with the governor backing several minor pirate lords to help pacify the area in. This resulted in not only the pacification of the area but it also gave the imperial navy a larger pool to recruit from when the governor pardoned those pirates that fought to establish imperial control and even ennobled the newly imperial pirate lords. While this did bolster the imperial navy which could not replace their loses due to a lack of areas to recruit from. It proved to be an ill advised decision as the nobility of Styria were scandalized by having pirates as peers and a significant number proved susceptible to the whispers and offers of Murr, the prohet of Bahal’din and newly emergent faith that was sweeping the subsector. The loyalist learned of this fact when Murr invaded the subsector capital in her bid to establish hegemony in the subsector. Entire ships and defense platforms turned their guns on their erstwhile kin. City void shields and planetary weapons were shut down. Every plan was revealed and the defenses were laid bare. As for the governor, he was assassinated in his own command bunker. With traitors in control of the very heart of the Styrian defense effort, any hope of rallying the remaining loyalist was lost. His heir Anna Belisarius however though mortally wounded from her own assassination attempt was able to last long enough to reach one of the many safe rooms of the complex and survive in a medical pod. She and her remaining body guards were later rescued by the 14th Styrian drop regiment led by the Interrogator Letra Macvicar who herself barely survived the massacre of her inquisitor and his retinue on board the flagship of the fleet Pride of Deus an oberon class imperial battleship which was slowly falling under control of the traitors with reinforcements from the invading chaos cultist and heretics. The focus on capturing as many ships intact allowed a significant number of loyalist ships to escape the system. This included the newly ascended governor and interrogator on the barely refurbished slaughter class ship Styria’s Herald which was in the coming decades to become the new flagship of the remaining loyalist. The loyalist then conducted a steady retreat into the smuggler regions. With knowledge of the safest and most secret routes the loyalist are to this day able to out maneuver the Triarchy navy and inflict heavy casualties on the heretics though slowly more and more planets and asteroid bases are falling under heretic control. It did not help that the pirates who survived the imperial conquest reemerged and saw this as a chance to be more active in their profession opportunistically attacking Triarchy and loyalist vessels alike. Political Issues Revanchism Officially, loyalist goal to this day is to regain control over the subsector. Unofficially, they know that they are going to need more resources and manpower than those provided by a ragtag fleet and thinly populated planets and asteroid bases. They are also aware that the Triarchy is slowly securing the region if not with skill then with overwhelming numbers. Worse, the Triarchy navy is slowly mastering the same lessons the loyalist learned on how to fight in the region. Secret routes are becoming rarer and they have learned to expertly maneuver around warp storms. Attrition is also an acute problem. Ships lost cannot be easily replaced. Loyalist who even remember a time when Styria was in imperial hands grow fewer and fewer with each passing decade. Though a vast majority of the imperial forces is within the smuggler region a small number travel the subsector incognito. Posing as traders or pirates they roam the stars seeking to hamper the Triarchy any way that they can. There has been an ever present rumor that the Triarchy has a number of secret installations in the void, space stations or asteroids serving as secret labs or prisons. Those that travel the subsector usually verify these rumors but so far reports received indicate no luck in finding any. The most significant victory for the embattled imperials was the destruction of the battleship Pride of Deus renamed Pride of Styria while she was in dock around the capital of the Triarchy. Posing as mercenaries and with the aid of several deep cover agents and inquisitorial teams, imperial forces managed to gain access to the ship and detonate the warp engines. Though all those who boarded the ship were killed in the blast, they managed to transmit a recording of the last moments prior to the explosion. It showed Triarchy forces led by the several squads of the enemy elite attempting to stop the detonation. They seemed incredibly resilient to most small arms fire wielded by imperial forces, looked heavily mutated and utterred an unearthly scream. Cure The wound Governor Belisarius had taken during the retreat from Styria has kept reopening forcing her to remain in her medical pod. Poison or warp wounds are frequently whispered by the common soldier. Though this has not prevented her from ruling, she is forced to do so from within her medical pod. Her location is a closely guarded secret with the Interrogator Letra Macvicar serving as her public face. When asked by the interrogator on the issue of heirs, the governess pointed out that one of the few possessions salvaged from the panic room was a case full of harvested genetic material from unknown donors and her own. She explained that the shadow war with house Ursus has made the belisaurians everywhere take steps to secure the future of the house. Supplies There is a general shortage of suppliers ranging from medical supplies to ship weapon ammunition. This has been alleviated somewhat with a yearly convoy from the inquisition, the only organization in the Sector who has seen fit to blatantly ignore the demands of the Ursus dynasty to hunt down the remaining imperial forces in the subsector. The inquisition so far as a whole has shown remarkable ambivalence towards the dispute between Ursus and Belisarius and has instead focused on aiding the ailing imperials. Ursus The imperials in the smuggler region are staunchly loyal to the Belisaurian dynasty and views the Ursus dynasty with contempt due to directly causing the Century of Woe with their decree and failing to come to their aid for about a century. Inquisitors Of special note concerns the remaining inquisitors in the region. After the imperial defeat at Styria, the surviving inquisitors were divided and unable to establish a unified front. Some decided that the cause was lost and quietly withdrew to pursue other interest in the Sector and beyond. Some also withdrew but with an intention to petition the Inquisition as an organization to be more vocal about the need for reconquest. Of those that remained most take advantage of smaller and faster imperial ships as a means of transport. Some work to infiltrate the Triarchy from within while others chose to openly lead. Though the betrayal at Styria resulted the deaths of many inquisitors some are unaccounted for. There is a not groundless fear that some were captured. The sheer volume of information that could be learned from the mind of an inquisitor has prompted many inquisitors that operate in or around the sector to take an interest on the fate of their collegues. Military Army The imperial guard is mostly infantry based with most serving to complement the meager defenses of the navy, though on occasion planetary and asteroid battles necessitate fighting in usual guard formation of regiments. This has given all soldiers that serve in the region ample experience in boarding actions as well as planetary and station invasions. Of special note concerns the remaining inquisitors in the region. After the imperial defeat at Styria, the surviving inquisitors were divided and unable to establish a unified front. Some decided that the cause was lost and quietly withdrew to pursue other interest in the Sector and beyond. Some also withdrew but with an intention to petition the Inquisition as an organization to be more vocal about the need for reconquest. Of those that remained most take advantage of smaller and faster imperial ships as a means of transport. Some work to infiltrate the Triarchy from within while others chose to openly lead. Navy The loyalist possess precious few ships of the line left and suffer from a lack of repair due to a scarcity of available parts. There are also few shipyards in the region capable of adequately handling them. Most imperial ships are frigates, destroyers or those of similar tonnage. It’s captains skilled in preying in isolated and vulnerable ships and convoy raiding. Sometimes a ship might pass an imperial patrol near the subsector aeternus. Though no word or vox contact is made, the patrols generally slow down significantly and fire wild shots at the retreating ships until it has fled. To this date no incidents of friendly fire have been reported, how long this will last remains to be seen.